Two new indie-rock festivals launch this weekend

Following Hot Plains Music Fest in May and The Beast in June, two more brand-new music festivals will debut on August long weekend.

Golden West Music Fest will be the first to bring Edmonton’s scene out of town, running on a family-owned farm in Ardmore, a two-hour drive northeast of the city. Golden West will feature more than 20 local acts including Black Mastiff, Mitchmatic, The Get Down, Renny Wilson, Slates and Brazilian Money, and an expected 400 patrons who will camp out and enjoy the tunes in the wilderness.

The Sailin’ On vegan food truck will provide food for the weekend, and local barber shop Barber Ha will bring a pig roast and a pancake breakfast.

Acknowledging the risk of setting up a festival outside of the city, Norman Omar, who is part of the festival’s organizing team, says it’s about putting familiar bands in an unfamiliar setting.

“I think there’s a relationship between the effort you put in to get to a place, and how pleasurable it is to be there. You actually leave your city, you leave your home for a few days, and you can actually just enjoy it on its own terms,” he says. “That’s why people go on vacation, is to actually leave the place.”

Bermuda Festival will take over the Old Strathcona area with a series of shows starting Thursday night.

The festival is set up with a “triangle” of venues, including concerts at Wunderbar and Baby Seal Club and an art show at Empress Ale House. House shows will be held at spots between the three locations.

“The concept of the festival is Bermuda, so it has three main venues, and then inside the triangle is free and secret shows,” explains festival founder Daniel Lenz.

Local bands on the bills include Fire Next Time, Scenic Route to Alaska, Doug Hoyer, Banshee, Morals and Catgut. V.I.P. tickets, including addresses to the house show, are available at Permanent Records.

In October, another new independent music festival, Up and Downtown Music and Art Festival, will hit the city centre October 12 and 13 featuring touring acts including Whitehorse, Rae Spoon and Plants and Animals. Tickets are available through yeglive.ca